East of England one of the worst areas for rural homelessness
The number of homeless people in rural England has jumped by more than a fifth since 2018
Last updated 24th Mar 2023
The number of homeless people in rural England has jumped by more than a fifth since 2018.
That's according to figures from the countryside charity, CPRE, which also suggest nearly 21,000 people didn't have their own home last year.
In 2021/22, the number of people homeless in rural England stood at 20,855, up from 17,212 (21.2%) in 2018/19.
It's warning of a hidden epidemic, with the East of England being one of the worst-affected areas.
Lower wages and high housing costs are thought to be partly to blame.
Connolly Burden has been staying in a tent in the woods of North Walsham for three weeks after losing his job.
He told Sky News: "I lost everything. My family would love to help me but there's just not enough room.
"I managed to find this pop-up tent for a fiver. I used the last bit of money I had...
"It's been horrible... The weather was really bad last week, I only got these blankets a couple of days ago...
"It's really cold now and it's such a risk - you really don't want to get Hypothermia - it's really scary."
Sarah McMonagle's from CPRE and says a lack of supply's pushing up housing costs: "House prices and rents are completely out of whack with local wages.
"It makes it really hard to live in the countryside unless you're on a really good salary."
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson told Sky News: "Councils have a duty to ensure families are not left without a roof over their heads and we're giving them ÂŁ366m to do so.
"This can be used to work with landlords to prevent evictions, provide temporary accommodation or find new homes.
"We are also tackling the impact of second homeowners in tourist hotspots and rural communities by empowering local leaders to apply a council tax premium of up to 100% on these properties.
"Building more affordable homes is key, which is why we're investing ÂŁ11.5bn to do so and have built more than 243,000 affordable homes in rural locations since 2010."